Against the Grain

World Social Forum and Beyond

Twenty years ago, the inaugural World Social Forum was convened in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Jackie Smith describes some of the networking processes and movement-building dynamics fostered by that gathering and its successors. She also discusses three strands of organizing directly influenced by the Forum: the Right to the City movement, Via Campesina, and indigenous people’s movements. (Encore presentation.)

Jackie Smith, “Making Other Worlds Possible: The Battle in Seattle in World-Historical Context” Socialism and Democracy

Jackie Smith, Social Movements for Global Democracy John Hopkins University Press, 2008

(Photo on main page by Kasuga Sho.)